Environmental Health Concepts in Public Health

Policy Analysis Guidelines
Background: You will conduct an environmental health policy analysis, commenting on
current oversight and regulation of the environmental health issue you selected for your
literature dissection assignment. The well-known policy analyst Carl V. Patton (1993) defines
a policy analysis as “the process through which we identify and evaluate alternative policies
or programs that are intended to lessen or resolve social, economic, or physical problems.”
It takes into account that many problems, including environmental health problems, are
complex issues requiring complex solutions. Identifying these solutions comes in part by
analyzing a policy through the lens of the following 6 step process:
1) Verify, define and detail the problem
2) Establish evaluation criteria
3) Identify alternative policies
4) Evaluate alternative policies
5) Select and recommend the preferred policy
6) Implement and monitor the chosen policy
Note the following key points about your Policy Analysis:
1. You should select and analyze a specific policy addressing the environmental health
issue you selected for your earlier literature dissection assignment. The policy analysis
should stand as its own work.
2. The policy could be one created and/or enforced by a regulatory agency to reduce an
adverse health outcome, such as by reducing exposure to a hazard contributing to the
issue. It could be a policy dictating specific intervention program requirements on the
local, state, or federal level at a government, healthcare, or community agency. And yes,
if you are focusing on the issue from a global or another country’s perspective, you can
analyze policies that reflect this. Regardless of the policy selected, the policy analysis
will include explicit statement of the problem/issue, the policy in question, alternative
policy options, your target population, and relevant stakeholders. You should also
consider:a. How the problem/issue is an environmental health issue. Convey your topic framed
within its history as an environmental health problem/issue.
b. Your specific target population(s) can have implications for the success or failure of a
policy, so consider them carefully.
c. Equally important are your audience/stakeholders. They may/may not differ from
your target population. For example, a vaccination policy designed to increase
vaccination rates in children (target population) could be designed for an audience of
parents, health care providers, community agencies, or other stakeholders.
d. Clearly and succinctly present the issue, its context, and recommended action
(includes your evaluation and recommendation of the alternative policy (ies)
addressing the problem/issue).
3. Use the additional guidance content and policy analysis examples provided in
Blackboard LEARN to inform your analysis and design of your report.
4. Superior spelling and grammar is expected.
5. This is not a lengthy report or white paper on the topic. Policy analyses can be as short
as a policy brief, i.e., a couple of pages, to a robust, 50 page review. For this
assignment, your policy analysis should be 4-6 pages long.
6. Your analysis should be created using Arial, Calibri, or Cambria font, and no smaller than
11 pt. font. SINGLE space is normal practice in a brief. Again, note SINGLE SPACE.
Policy analyses often have a variety of fonts, pictures, and other items to convey the
message in a way that attracts the reader. Sell your analysis. This should not be a
boring, single spaced paper.
7. All sources should be cited in text and referenced per APA style. Include a final page
with your references at the end of your analysis (this is not a part of the page limit).
Please submit your Policy Analysis assignment in Blackboard LEARN per the directions.
Reference:
Patton, Carl V. & Sawicki, David S. (1993). Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.